Last week, 33-year-old Melissa Lockhart, Romero’s sister, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison as an accessory after the fact to aggravated animal cruelty for attempting to cover up Buddy’s death. A theft complaint filed against her for stealing the dog was dismissed in June.

“The goal of this group is to honor Buddy by donating time, needed materials and money to the shelter of your choice, in Buddy’s name.

“We are building a legacy of giving and love that Buddy deserves. … We ask that every member of this group donate … and ‘Tell Em Buddy sent you.’ ”

It went on to say that “Do It for Buddy” programs are currently in progress in schools and churches around the USA.

“Let’s build a wonderful legacy for Buddy. Let him be remembered for all the good deeds done is his honor. It makes a big difference to the shelter animals.”

The words have hit home to many. There are 12,963 members of the site.

In her entry, Tami wrote: “We adopted a 5yr old mini Schnauzer today from our local shelter, he has to be neutered before we can bring him home, can’t wait 🙂 RIP Buddy! I think of you often!”

Linda wrote: “The morning of September 18th I will put my Buddy Tee Shirt on and head out to the garage sale that the local animal shelter is holding. The plan … I am donating my Beanie Baby collection.”

Carol wrote: “Buddy: I wore your t-shirt to the dog park today and I brought 2 gallon bottles and filled them with water for the other dogs in your honor.”

Karen said: “Had office appreciation day at work, and I asked for doggie/kitty treats, My boss and co-workers put together a huge bag of treats which i took to the … animal shelter, and told them ‘Buddy sent me’.”

Another Carol said: “I tell my friends that I cut back on eating out because I would rather donate my money to help animals.”

Buddy’s spirit lives on, not in anger but in compassion.
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Speaking of compassion, The Gabriel Foundation in Denver could use some about now. The foundation, which rescues parrots and similar birds, got a desperate call last month asking if it could take some birds from a man in Colorado Springs who had been hospitalized and was seriously ill. His 85-year-old mother was the only person feeding the birds.

There were 14 birds — 10 Greys, one Goffin’s Cockatoo, and three Blue Fronted Amazons. They were in extremely small cages in the bedroom where their owner slept. Conditions were depressingly dirty, dusty, cramped, and dingy. The birds hadn’t been to the vet in some time.

The man’s mother was doing her best, but the task was overwhelming for her.

Their owner was without health insurance, and his stay in the hospital was indefinite. By mutual agreement, the foundation took the birds and is now trying to nurse them back to health.

“With the significant birds that have come to TGF from recent rescues, and from the recession that affects us all, we face a revenue shortfall,” a spokesman said in a press release. “Any assistance you could donate towards the care of these birds is so appreciated and so needed.”

Also seeking donations is the Aurora Animal Shelter, which wants to build an outdoor dog play and exercise run. Exercise and socialization keeps dogs from going “kennel crazy” and makes them more likely to be adopted, based on the experience of other shelters in Colorado.

Recently, the shelter was awarded a grant for $5,000 from the Animal Assistance Foundation to kick off the capital campaign for the outdoor dog exercise/play/visitation area. The estimated costs are approximately $80,000, but no city funding exists to build a run area, a spokesman said in a press release. So the shelter is launching the fund-raising effort to cover the $75,000 difference.

Wag ‘n Trail — The Dumb Friends League Wag ‘n Trail, a 1.6-mile hike for people and their dogs, takes place Saturday, Sept. 25, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Glendale Farm Open Space north of Castle Rock. The sixth annual fundraiser benefits the League’s Buddy Center. There is no registration fee for the Wag ‘n Trail, but participants are encouraged to collect pledges and earn prizes.
For more information: ddfl.org, or 303-751-5772 ext. 1378.

Woof and Wag – The Humane Society of the South Platte Valley is holding its second annual Woof and Wag 5K Run/Walk/Dog Walk/Kid’s Fun Run on Sunday at Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center. Partipants can stay and hang out after the race for Famous Dave’s BBQ, prize giveaways, a Pet Microchip Clinic and music and fun provided by sponsors Mix 100 and Highlands Ranch Optical. Information and registration: HSSPV.org, click on news and events.

Travel and OutWest editor Kyle Wagner grew up in Pittsburgh and lived in Lake County, Ill., and Naples, Fla., before moving to Denver in 1993, where she reviewed restaurants for Westword before moving to The Denver Post in 2002. She considers the best days to be those that involve her teenage daughters and doing something outside, preferably mountain biking or whitewater rafting.

Dean Krakel is a photo editor (primarily sports) at The Denver Post. A native of Wyoming, he has authored three books, "Season of the Elk," "Downriver" and "Krakel's West." An avid kayaker, rafter, mountain biker, trail runner, telemark skier and backpacker, Dean's outdoor adventures have taken him around the world.

Douglas Brown was raised about 30 miles west of Philadelphia in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he spent a lot of time running around in the woods and fields (where he hunted and explored), and in the ocean (where he surfed and stared at the horizon). Now he lives in Boulder and spends as much time hiking, running, skiing and boarding the High Country (and the Boulder foothills) as possible.

Ricardo Baca is the entertainment editor and pop music critic at The Denver Post, as well as the founder and executive editor of Reverb and the co-founder of The UMS. Happy days often involve at least one of these: whitewater rafting, snowshoeing, vintage Vespas, writing, camping, live music, road trips, snowboarding or four-wheeling.